This invention is concerned with an assembly of heel and outsole for a shoe construction having a molded outsole and shank for locking a heel into position and concurrently permitting styling the shoe.
In a slipper shoe construction embodying a heel there is a conventional construction in which a tuck board is employed together with a metallic insert to provide the connection between the heel and shank. It has been considered necessary to employ the metallic insert to provide the necessary strength in the shank. The presence of a cardboard tuck board is a further reason to employ a metallic insert in the shank.
The present invention avoids the conventional tuck board and metallic insert and introduces a laminated plastic shank that carries the support in the shank from the outsole forepart to the body of the heel. Such a deviation accomplishes a construction that is strong, light weight, permits a basis for styling the appearance of the shank, and maintains the necessary security of the heel attachment so the shoe holds its shape to maintain appearance.
It is a further unique character of the shoe construction that the shank can feature a design appearance as to either color or surface design in view of the molded plastic shank material that is integrated with the forepart of the outsole, and the provision for a portion of a cushion in the heel to be visible in an aperture at the breast of the heel where the shank terminates so as to complement the shank.
An important feature is to eliminate metallic arch supports and rely on the application of plastic material to make a reduction in the weight of the shoe without prejudice to the stability of the heel relative to the upper.
A further unique characteristic of the shoe construction is the ability to incorporate cushion means in the heel to greatly improve the comfort and fit of the shoe; and also to obtain an improvement in the flexibility of the forepart of the outsole.
Other features of the construction of the shoe will be set forth in the following description, having reference to the several drawing views.